Bulky Clothing May Increase Risk of Injuries among Children

According to Consumer Reports, the combination of a bulky jacket to keep a child warm, and a car seat, can be dangerous.

As temperatures dip, and the weather becomes colder across California, many parents are likely to bundle up their children in warm jackets and bulky clothes, to keep them warm. However, it may be dangerous to put a child in a car seat, while he is wearing such bulky clothing.

According to Consumer Reports, the combination of a bulky jacket to keep a child warm, and a car seat, can be dangerous. When temperatures drop, you need to be much more cautious about restraining your child securely. Many parents do not realize that bulky clothing can place a child at risk of injuries in an accident.

Avoid putting your child in winter coats or bulky coats underneath the hardness of a car seat. If a child is wearing bulky gear, and is then secured into a seat, the harness can actually become to lose. A loose car seat harness does nothing to help prevent injury or fatality in a car accident.

Consumer Reports suggests that you first put the coat on the child, put him in the child seat and fasten the harness until it is so tight that you cannot pinch the webbing with your thumb and forefinger. Now, remove the child from the car seat without unlocking the harness, take the coat off, and put him back into the car seat. Perform the webbing test again. If you still find that you can pinch the webbing between your thumb and forefinger, then the coat is much too bulky to be worn under the harness.

Instead, strap your child without the coat into the hardness, and put the coat on the child backwards, slipping his arms through the sleeves and tucking the front behind him to keep him warm. You can now use a blanket to keep him warm further. This is much safer than using the bulky coat under a harness.